Monday, 2 May 2016

3 Things I Love About The High Street

As many of my readers know, I love seeking out a bargain. As a parent, I often go out of my way to head to the high-street and stock up on any bargains that I am able to find. I have loved my local high street in Southampton for many years but recently I have been visiting other local high streets. One of my favourite high streets to head to is Portsmouth.
When ever I head to the high street, not only do I browse shops for bargains but I also keep in mind the cashback I am able to receive thanks to Quidco High Street. Quidco High Street allows you to earn money back on your shopping in more than 5300 retailers nationwide.

To sign up to Quidco High Street and take advantage of cashing in on cashback when you visit your local high street, all you need to do is register your debit or credit card on the Quidco website, then when you shop at one of their retailers, Quidco tracks your purchase, and pays you cashback as a percentage of your purchase. Once the retailer has confirmed your purchase, the cashback will be deposited into your bank account automatically.

Quidco High Street recently conducted a survey and found that 6 in 10 respondents in Portsmouth (60%) said they quite like their local high street, with over 1 in 7 (15%) saying they love it. The survery also found out that people mostly visited Portsmouth high-street to do other (non-food) shopping (48%), the second favourite reason to visit the high-street was to browse (42%).

There are 3 reasons why I love shopping the high-street instead of shopping online are:

1 - Socialising -

I love meeting up with friends and socialising. I also love spending time shopping with my family.
When I shop on the internet, I am not able to meet up with my friends or family and socialise over a cup of coffee or lunch. I am not able to tell them about any bargains I have found and I am not able to tell them if I do or don't like something they have bought.

As a busy parent, I love going out to socialise. My happiest moments are when I am with my family. I love nothing more than grabbing some lunch with my family and sitting down and having a chat. My favourite time of the year to do this is in December when I meet my mum. I have fond memories of doing the same with my mum and nan before my nan passed away.

2 - History -

Since I was at school, I have always been interested in the history of places and have always enjoyed looking at creations which people had spent the time creating over a number of years. Portsmouth hosts a whole load of creations in its high street.

One of my favourite pieces to look at in Portsmouth high street is the jubilee fountain.The jubilee fountain was given to Portsmouth by Landports in commemoration of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth. It is a real eye catching piece and it is something that Maxwell loves to sit on when we visit Portsmouth. The fountain has stood in the same spot since 1977 and I hope it stays there for many more years. Recently there have been many petitions to save the fountain after the council wanted to try and get rid of it. The fountain has many stories to tell.

3 - Bargains -

The third reason I love shopping on the high street is down to the fact I love finding a bargain which I would not be able to find online. I was surprised to see that 56% of people also agreed with me on this point. I was not expecting so many to be so happy to grab a bargain.

As a bargain queen, I often do not buy anything unless it is heavily reduced. Recently on a shopping trip I managed to get my hands on a lot of Gap items for Maxwell reduced to just £2. The items were in the sale and the items also had a extra 40% off. In total I think I saved over 80%. Had I looked online, I would have never been able to get this type of bargain so I was utterly thrilled when I managed to sort Maxwell's summer wardrobe for just a small price.

Not only are there bargains to be had in-store in the high street but there are also fantastic bargains to have on the markets which are on the high street. There are often bargains on the fruit and veg stall as well at the stalls which sell little nick nacks.

I adore shopping in the high-street. Having read the statistics from the survey which Quidco found, I am happy to see that not everyone is obsessed with the internet and still enjoy visiting the high-street. I often worry that more and more people will shop on the internet and in the long run our high-streets will die out.

When you next visit the local high street remember the bargain rail you spotted will not be online, the £3 parking charge would only cover 1 online post and packing fee, the designer clothes you spotted in the local charity shop will be on eBay with 10 people watching them and there will be no one to socialise with.

Now I’d like to hear from you! What do you love about your local High Street?

Please note this is a collaborative post but all words and opinions are my own.